It is well known to provide lawn tractors (lawnmowers) that have dual levers where each lever provides direction control and speed control. These lawn tractors typically have a pair of side-by-side levers which move forward and aft from a neutral position to achieve variable speed and steering. These two essentially vertically positioned levers can be positioned close together between the operator's knees or positioned out to the sides of the operator. Each lever independently controls the speed of one of the drive wheels which permits a variety of maneuvers including rotating one wheel forward while rotating the other backward, which causes the mower to turn within its own dimensions. This maneuverability is often referred to as a zero turning radius lawnmower.
Since a typical zero turn lawnmower has two independent control levers, an operator is required to use two hands to control such a lawnmower since each control lever controls the speed and the direction of one of the drive wheels. For example, to make a zero radius turn it is necessary to use one hand to operate one drive lever to actuate one of the drive wheels in a first or forward direction while simultaneously using the other hand to operate the other lever to actuate the other drive wheel in a second or reverse direction.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus that can be adapted to existing dual lever lawn tractors that allows an operator to use a single hand to both steer and drive a dual lever lawn tractor.
Nothing in the prior art provides the benefits attendant with the present invention.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art devices and which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the lawnmower art.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.